Péter PalotásSoccer Forward

Péter Palotás (27 June 1929 – 17 May 1967), also referred to as Péter Poteleczky and Palotás Péter, was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward for MTK Hungária FC and Hungary. During the 1950s he was a fringe member of the legendary team known as the Mighty Magyars and played alongside the likes of Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, Nándor Hidegkuti and József Bozsik. Palotás was an early pioneer of the deep lying centre-forward role and in 1955 he scored the first ever hat-trick in a European Cup game. In 1959 he was forced to retire as a player due to a heart condition. The same condition led to his premature death on 17 May 1967.
Palotás spent all his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. However during this time, the club changed their name several times. In 1949, when Hungary became a communist state, MTK were taken over by the secret police, the ÁVH and subsequently the club became known as Textiles SE. They then became Bástya SE, then Vörös Lobogó SE and then finally back to MTK.